It has been a bit quiet due to a visit to France. As ever France continues to be a contradiction to me.
We are having some work done on the house – a terrace and balcony on the rear of the property and a new wall bordering the driveway to define the terrain. This has been ongoing for nearly a year since first discussed and agreed with the builder. There is always a reason why the project is delayed be it weather, subcontractors etc. Like many other similar encounters there is no communication either positive or negative to let you know what is going on. You arrive expecting to see something as promised and it is not done. It results in a confrontation, a shrug of shoulders and ‘tomorrow’ (Demain). I used to think Peter Mayle was joking in his book ‘A Year in Provence’ but now I am not so sure.
I can’t help but contrast this with when I was in business when I always stressed to my team that they must manage the client expectations. If the job was going to be late tell the client early on so there are no surprises. If you are going to delivery before expected then also tell them so they think you are wonderful. This clearly does not fit with the French psych. That having been said they are nice people and we have some great times out there.
Anyway the light is at the end of the tunnel and the work they have done looks excellent and very well engineered. It has just taken a very very long time …..
Martel Steam Railway
Speaking of tunnels we had a friend staying and we visited the Martel Steam Railway for a steam train ride. The Martel line is a few miles long and has a very steep gradient from the village of Martel down to the valley side overlooking the Dordogne. The society runs both steam and diesel engines and the carriages are really just open trucks with a roof over them. It was busy and it was hot (mid 30s). We had the added pleasure of a brass band on the journey playing ‘umpahpah’ music.
There is a lot of history regarding the line. For a steam engine the gradient is very steep and the engineering of the line involved a number of tunnels of varying length. During WW2 the line had to be pressed into service for all mainline traffic following resistance action on other routes. If you are in the area it is worth a visit.
http://trainduhautquercy.info/en/steam-train-martel-le-truffadou/
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